Leadership
Our owners and management team are experienced professionals who lead with care and compassion.
Leadership
Our owners and management team are experienced professionals who lead with care and compassion.
Introduction
Meet Our Owners
Hal Baumchen | PSYD, LP, LADC
President, Clinical Director, and Co-Occurring Disorders Specialist
Dr. Hal Baumchen is a psychologist, author, and speaker. He is the President and Clinical Director of NorthStar Regional. A Licensed Clinical Psychologist (LP) with over 30 years (30,000+ hours) of counseling experience, he was also the founder and executive director of Northland Counseling Services. He received his master’s Degree from Wheaton Graduate School and his Doctorate of Psychology (PsyD) from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, and is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor (LADC) and received his certificate in Co-Occurring Disorders from Adler Graduate School. He is the author of Journeys, a co-occurring disorders resource manual, Destinations, a practical guide for overcoming addictions and improving your mental health, the Destinations Companion Workbook, and he coauthored Finding Hope Again: Overcoming Depression with Dr. Neil T. Anderson. He is the author and founder of Journey to Recovery, a resource site with materials for the treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
Thomas Winegarden | MD
Medical Director and Addiction Medicine Specialist
Dr. Thomas Winegarden is a Board Certified Adult and Addictions Psychiatrist. He received his degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School and is the current Medical Director of Bridges at Stone Creek, an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) located in Chanhassen, MN. Dr. Winegarden has served at Hazelden Treatment Center, Center City, MN since 1994 and serves as staff psychiatrist at Fairview Southdale Hospital. His clinical interests include bipolar, depression, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder, and addictions in adults.
Jason Vanderscoff | LADC
Chief Executive Officer
Jason is the CEO of NorthStar Regional and was formerly the CEO of Five Stars Recovery Center. He is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC). His responsibilities include overall strategy, program development, financial oversight and provider contracting. Jason has also served as the CEO of CD Recovery Services, DRS Acquisitions, and Cx Technology Services. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Introduction
Meet Our Management Team
Brian Loots | LADC
Chief Operations Officer
With over 15 years’ experience in the treatment of co-occurring disorders, Brian has a track record of transforming organizations clinically, financially and culturally into therapeutic systems of healthcare. Brian has lead the development of programming at Northstar Regional (formerly Five Stars Recovery Center) into what it is today. With experience in nearly every role across the entire continuum of care, Brianunderstands what it takes to deliver first class comprehensive co-occurring treatment. Brian attended the Masters in Nonprofit Management program at Hamline University, and earned his bachelor’s degree from the U of M-Twin Cities in Psychological and Spiritual Approaches to Behavior Change and Addiction.
Lisette Wright | MA, LP
Chief Compliance Officer
Lisette is a Licensed Psychologist and the Chief Compliance Officer for NorthStar Regional. After providing clinical services for nearly 15 years, Lisette returned to school for a certificate in Health Information Technology. As a national consultant in electronic health records in behavioral healthcare, she focused on helping organizations transition to the ICD-10/DSM-5. She wrote a curriculum, trained close to 14,000 clinicians nationally, then turned the curriculum into a graduate-level textbook from Routledge, “ICD-10/DSM-5 Coding, Documentation, and Clinical Diagnostic Criteria Training”© During this time, she obtained a Graduate Certificate in Corporate Compliance in 2016 and has been an executive leader with NorthStar Regional since 2017.
James "JJ" Johnson, Jr. | LADC, ICS
Residential Program Director
JJ started his career in addiction treatment and recovery in 1990 with Franciscan Skemp Healthcare in LaCrosse, WI, during which time he had the privilege of working with a Sister City project that took him to Russia to help develop Outpatient Treatment programs in cities outside of Moscow. In 2001, he accepted a position as Coordinator of Substance Abuse Services for New Ulm Medical Center; he remained at New Ulm Medical Center until accepting a position in St. Paul for HealthEast-Addiction Care. He was recently elected as NAADAC Regional Vice-President for the Northcentral Region.
Yvonne Gennrich
Director of Financial Operations
Yvonne brings a wide range of experience to her position at NorthStar Regional. She previously served as the Finance Manager at Northland Counseling Services, where she was instrumental in the merging of operations between that organization and NorthStar Regional. She was the Controller at Cook County North Shore Hospital & Care Center in Grand Marais, MN, for 15 years, where she was responsible for all financial operations.
Tim Bode
Director of Marketing and Technology
Tim is responsible for the development and oversight of NorthStar Regional’s marketing communications activities and technology systems. He was previously director of operations for Northland Counseling Services, and worked as a marketing director at The Araz Group in Bloomington, MN and Concordia University in St. Paul, MN. Tim is a graduate of the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
